Back in 1977, this beast emerged as Yamaha's top dog in their black monosynth lineup, packing semi-modular vibes into a desktop-sized powerhouse that let players twist signals like a mad scientist.
Its dual signal paths each run a VCO with saw and pulse waves, PWM, FM, and noise, feeding into independent multimode resonant filters—low-pass, band-pass, high-pass—and VCAs, all mixable via separate mono outputs or a main mix. Three ADSR envelopes plus an IAADR one fuel modulation across oscillators, filters, amps, and a versatile LFO with saw, sine, square, and sample/hold shapes that can even get envelope-controlled. Ring mod and cross-mod unlock metallic bells and formants, while an 8-step sequencer with CV/gate outs (0.1-30Hz rates) sketches patterns on the fly; external audio in hits the filters too. The panel bristles with 56 knobs, 12 sliders, 20 buttons, dual mod wheels, and 18 switches for hands-on routing, all on a 44-key board stretching 978x330x173mm and weighing 15kg—pure analog heft without MIDI or memory, just CV/gate for modular mates.
Players dig its endless tweaking for throbbing basses, sweeps, and experimental leads—808 State swore by it—though the non-standard routing takes practice to master, and that short sequencer keeps things sketch-like rather than epic.
